The present disclosure relates generally to environmental control systems, and more particularly, to a furnace for environmental control systems.
Environmental control systems are utilized in residential, commercial, and industrial environments to control environmental properties, such as temperature and humidity, for occupants of the respective environments. The environmental control system may control the environmental properties through control of an airflow delivered to the environment. For example, a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system routes the airflow through a furnace having a heat exchanger prior to delivery to the environment. The heat exchanger transfers thermal energy from a fluid flowing through the heat exchanger to the airflow to increase a temperature of the airflow. In some cases, transferring the thermal energy from the fluid in the heat exchanger may result in condensation of the fluid in the heat exchanger. The condensed fluid is ultimately removed from the HVAC system via a drainage system. Unfortunately, when the ambient temperature is at or below 0° Celsius (C) (32° Fahrenheit (F)), the condensed fluid may solidify (e.g., freeze) within the drainage system, which may result in blockage of the drainage system, thereby affecting operation of the HVAC system.